After leaving the Great Toad Sage’s hall, Naruto and Jiraiya prepared to return to Konohagakure.
“Pervy Sage… do you think the Great Toad Sage’s prophecies ever contain anything unimportant?”
Naruto could not stop thinking about the mysterious man who possessed the same ocular power as Sasuke.
“How could they?”
Jiraiya waved the suggestion away.
“The Great Toad Sage once gave me a prophecy too.
He said I would become a wandering author, encounter the Child of Prophecy, and eventually…”
His expression turned serious.
“…be faced with a true choice.”
Jiraiya gazed into the distance as he recalled the path his life had taken.
“Because I became an author and wandered throughout the shinobi world, I met Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan.”
“Later, I met you—the person I believe to be the Child of Prophecy.”
“And finally, after learning about your future memories, I chose to travel to Amegakure and confront Nagato.”
Jiraiya looked directly at his disciple.
“The Great Toad Sage’s prophecies are never wrong.”
Naruto fell silent.
After thinking for a while, he suddenly struck his right fist against his left palm.
“Oh!
Maybe all Sharingan possess more or less the same ocular power?”
He tilted his head.
“Or perhaps when the Great Toad Sage said they had the ‘same ocular power,’ he only meant that they both possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.”
Naruto considered the possibility.
“I have a feeling I’ll eventually encounter Uchiha Obito.
He has the Mangekyō Sharingan too…”
However, the moment those words left his mouth, Naruto rejected the theory himself.
“No, that can’t be right…”
His brow furrowed.
“I’ve already seen Kakashi-sensei’s Mangekyō Sharingan, and his eye is the counterpart to Obito’s…”
Naruto sank deeper into thought.
Jiraiya released a helpless sigh, stepped forward, and patted him on the head.
“If you can’t find an answer, then stop worrying about it.”
He smiled reassuringly.
“Before we learned anything about the future, we still managed to live our lives, didn’t we?”
“As for what lies ahead…”
“We’ll deal with it when it arrives.”
Naruto looked up at him.
Then his blue eyes curved into a smile.
“Yeah.”
He nodded firmly.
“To keep moving forward and never give up…”
Naruto raised a clenched fist.
“That’s the ninja way my future self taught me!”
“Good.
Then let’s return to the village.”
Jiraiya led Naruto to one of the toads responsible for maintaining contact with Konoha.
Before long, a small messenger toad dove into one of Mount Myōboku’s mystical springs.
It emerged directly within Konohagakure and activated the Reverse Summoning Jutsu.
With a burst of white smoke, Naruto and Jiraiya returned to the soil of the Hidden Leaf Village.
…
The Following Day
Within a forest near Konohagakure, each member of Team Seven wore a wireless radio.
The three genin concealed themselves behind separate trees.
Hinata activated her Byakugan.
The powerful dōjutsu granted her an all-around field of vision capable of penetrating almost any obstruction.
At that moment, she was secretly observing the target of their current mission.
Kakashi’s voice sounded through their earpieces.
“How far are you from the target?”
“Five meters,” Hinata answered softly and concisely.
“Everything’s ready.
I can move at any time,” Naruto reported over the shared channel.
“Same here,” Sasuke replied calmly.
“Good.”
Kakashi paused.
“Go.”
Fwish!
Fwish!
Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata leaped from their hiding places at the same time.
Their target was captured almost instantly.
Sasuke pressed a hand to his earpiece and reported the result.
“Ribbon tied around the left ear.
Target confirmed—it’s Tora.”
He glanced toward the brown cat struggling in Naruto’s arms.
“Mission complete.
Return to my location.”
After accompanying Kakashi to the Hokage’s office and handing over the cat, Team Seven’s morning mission officially came to an end.
Naruto immediately suggested that Sasuke and Hinata join him for lunch.
As for Kakashi—
Perhaps he was eager to return home and read his beloved Icha Icha novel.
Or perhaps he had realized that if he stayed any longer, his wallet would once again be placed in grave danger.
Whatever the reason, the instant the mission was submitted, Kakashi vanished with the Body Flicker Jutsu.
“Did he really have to be that stingy?”
Naruto stared at the spot where Kakashi had disappeared.
“I didn’t even get to eat any yakiniku yesterday…”
His complaint was perfectly justified.
He had been reverse-summoned to Mount Myōboku just as the meat was finally ready.
With no teacher left to exploit, Naruto turned toward his teammates.
“Then let’s go eat at Ichiraku!”
“Whatever.”
Sasuke headed toward the exit first.
Over the years, Naruto’s rapid growth had pushed Sasuke to develop a habit of never wasting even a single moment.
“Naruto-kun…”
Hinata carefully tested the waters.
“You really like ramen, don’t you?”
Naturally, she needed to remember the preferences of the person she liked.
Naruto hurried after Sasuke without turning around.
“Yeah!”
He grinned broadly.
“Ichiraku’s ramen is the best!”
Hinata smiled and happily hurried after the two boys.
…
The Hokage’s Office
Jiraiya leaned against the wall and glanced toward the stack of documents on Hiruzen’s desk.
They all concerned the upcoming Chūnin Exams.
“The exams will begin soon, old man.”
Jiraiya crossed his arms.
“Have you truly made up your mind to keep Orochimaru from escaping this time?”
The Third Hokage placed down his brush and leaned back in his chair.
He took several slow puffs from his pipe before answering with a hoarse laugh.
“Jiraiya…”
“Allowing Orochimaru to escape the first time was already one of the greatest mistakes I have ever made.”
His aged eyes became firm.
“This time, even if I must die in battle again, I will not allow him to escape.”
Jiraiya fell silent for a moment.
Then he spoke quietly.
“Old man, I won’t let you die like that.”
He turned toward the window.
Far below, Sasuke walked ahead along the village street while Naruto followed close behind, walking beside Hinata.
A faint smile appeared on Jiraiya’s face.
“And don’t forget…”
“The Naruto of today is already extremely powerful.”
“He isn’t much weaker than the Naruto who fought in that war within his memories.”
The Third Hokage smiled as well.
Smoke drifted across his aged face, concealing his expression.
“The new generation has finally caught up…”
His sigh carried both relief and melancholy.
Jiraiya had no interest in indulging the old man’s sentimentality.
He pushed himself away from the wall and headed toward the door.
However, just before leaving, he stopped with his back to Hiruzen.
“Actually…” Get faster updates on novelping.com.
His voice became unusually quiet.
“In the end, Orochimaru also chose to stand beside the Allied Shinobi Forces, didn’t he?”
Jiraiya waited.
The Third Hokage gave no answer.
After several seconds of silence, Jiraiya opened the door and left.
…
Ichiraku Ramen
Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata sat side by side at the counter.
“I’ll have a large miso ramen!”
Naruto raised one hand enthusiastically.
“Same flavor as always!”
He had been visiting Ichiraku for so many years that he and the owner were already extremely familiar with each other.
Teuchi laughed.
“Got it.
What about you, Sasuke?
The usual?”
Sasuke nodded.
Over the years, Naruto had dragged him here more times than he could count.
He still could not understand what Naruto found so fascinating about ramen.
“What about you, Hinata?”
Naruto turned toward her and blinked his large blue eyes.
Hinata felt as though she had been struck directly through the heart.
Her cheeks turned faintly red.
She quickly straightened her posture and nodded.
“I-I’ll have miso ramen too.
A small serving, please.
Thank you…”
In truth, Hinata rarely ate ramen and knew almost nothing about the different varieties.
Teuchi’s gaze moved between Naruto and Hinata.
A meaningful smile appeared on his face.
“All the ramen is half-price today!”
“Eh?!”
Naruto stared at him in surprise.
Then his expression immediately became one of pure delight.
Sasuke remained entirely unmoved by the discount.
While waiting for their food, he began attempting to extract a small quantity of Lightning Release chakra and use it to stimulate the muscles in both arms.
It was a method he had seen Kakashi use during the bell test.
The amount of chakra Sasuke released was extremely small, and his physical movements were almost imperceptible.
Neither Naruto nor Hinata noticed.
That was for the best, since Sasuke needed complete concentration to sense the subtle changes within his arms.
Delicious ramen required patience.
With nothing else to do, Naruto extended one finger toward the countertop and once again attempted to draw the Flying Thunder God formula using chakra.
Perhaps Naruto truly possessed considerable talent for space–time ninjutsu.
He had made steady progress in understanding the complicated theories written within the scroll.
However, he had never once succeeded in creating the formula mark required to activate the Flying Thunder God Technique.
That failure had been troubling him for some time.
He truly could not understand how his father had mastered something so complicated.
“Here you go!
Your ramen is ready!”
Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame, placed three steaming bowls before them.
Naruto’s eyes lit up.
“Haha!
Thanks for the food!”
…
After finishing their ramen, the three members of Team Seven stepped outside.
“Naruto.”
A familiar voice called out to him.
Jiraiya was leaning against the wall beside Ichiraku’s entrance.
Naruto, who had been happily patting his full stomach, turned around in surprise.
Sasuke and Hinata stopped as well.
Jiraiya walked over and placed his remaining hand upon Naruto’s shoulder.
“Go home and pack your things.”
His expression became serious.
“You’re coming with me…”
Jiraiya paused.
“We’re going to find Tsunade and bring her back.”